WASHINGTON — Acknowledging that the Middle East peace process is in a “rut,” President Barack Obama nonetheless voiced confidence Tuesday that a breakthrough could be achieved — and he thanked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whom he hosted for meetings at the White House, for playing a constructive role.
“There has been movement in the right direction,” Obama said. “If all sides are willing to move off of the rut that we’re in currently, then I think there is an extraordinary opportunity to make real progress. But we’re not there yet.”
Mubarak, addressing reporters alongside Obama, conveyed his willingness to help motivate the process.
“We are trying and working on this goal — to bring the two parties to sit together and to get something from the Israeli party and to get something from the Palestinian party. If we, perhaps, can get them to sit together, we will help,” Mubarak said.
Obama and Mubarak’s meeting, their third in three months, marked a significant departure from the previous administration, when Mubarak and President George W. Bush parted ways over human rights and U.S. policy in the Middle East.
Tuesday’s events reaffirmed that relations have become warmer. But it was unclear how much progress the two would make on their top priority: jump-starting the Middle East peace process.
Soliman Awaad, Mubarak’s spokesman, said Obama told the Egyptian president that a blueprint for such a process should be ready next month.
Next week, George Mitchell, the special U.S. envoy for Middle East peace, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are scheduled to meet.
Obama has sought to persuade Arab nations to move forward with concessions to Israel but has found little success. Mubarak, in an interview published Monday, said it is up to Israel to take the next step. And he said he told Obama in June, at the time of the U.S. president’s address in Cairo to the Muslim world, that Israel must stop the expansion of its settlements.
